The state in which you choose to live can play a big role in how far your paycheck stretches each month.
Some states are just more expensive than others, forcing you to spend more of your paycheck on necessities.
GOBankingRates has identified the best — and worst — states for avoiding a paycheck-to-paycheck existence.
Data was collected to rank all 50 states in a range of categories, including median household income and the cost of housing, food, transportation, utilities, and healthcare.
We crunched those numbers to see which states' residents had the biggest portion of their paycheck left at the end of the month.
Click through to see if you live in a state that’s kind on your income or one that stretches your budget too thin.
DON'T MISS: http://www.businessinsider.com/homes-in-most-expensive-housing-markets-in-america-2016-9
SEE ALSO: The 50 best places to live in America
10. Connecticut
Boasting Yale University as well as the fourth-highest median household income in the nation ($70,161), Connecticut residents need almost all their paycheck to get by because of the relatively high cost of food (the second highest in the U.S. at $353 per paycheck) and the high cost of housing ($738 per paycheck).
When all is said and done, the average Connecticut resident has less than a quarter of his paycheck left for fun and other expenses, or about $663.
9. Massachusetts
The site where the Mayflower landed is a little more taxing of a place to live than the Pilgrims probably envisioned. The high cost of housing — about 30 percent of the median paycheck — and transportation — about 21 percent — put Massachusetts in the top 10 of places you’re most likely to live paycheck to paycheck.
The final result? After housing, food, utilities and transportation costs are covered, only about 23 percent, or about $550, is left over to see the New England sights — or buy Patriots tickets.
8. Rhode Island
The smallest state in the nation is also one of the most expensive, coming in as the eighth most likely to see its residents living paycheck to paycheck. The reason can mostly be attributed to relatively high percentage of the median paycheck spent on housing (29 percent) and transportation (20 percent).
With more than 50 percent of their income going to those two necessities, there’s a mere 23 percent of each paycheck, or $508, left over.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider